List of lakes of the Lake District explained

This list contains the lakes, tarns and reservoirs in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England.

Only one body of water, Bassenthwaite Lake, is traditionally named a lake.^[1] Larger bodies of water in the Lake District are generally named as mere or water, whilst smaller ones are denoted by tarn. Some writers, particularly in the media, refer to Lake Windermere though this use is deprecated.

Physical characteristics of the main lakes

This table gives details of those bodies of water with a surface area of at least 0.1 km².

Name	Length (km)^[2]	-- --> Web site: Table of lake facts . Environment Agency . 25 September 2018 . http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20060223173113/http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/commondata/103196/1118608?referrer=/regions/northwest/346910/347005/1110630/1110650/ . 23 February 2006.	Max. width (km)	Area (km²)	Volume (m³ x 10^6)^[3]	Mean depth (m)	Max. depth (m)	Surface elev. (m)	Retention time (days)^[4]	Trophic state index
Bassenthwaite Lake									eutrophic
Blea Water^[5]
Blelham Tarn^[6]									eutrophic
Brotherswater									oligotrophic
Burnmoor Tarn^[7]
Buttermere									oligotrophic/mesotrophic
Cogra Moss^[8]
Coniston Water									mesotrophic/oligotrophic
Crummock Water									oligotrophic/mesotrophic
Derwent Water									mesotrophic
Devoke Water^[9]
Easedale Tarn^[10]
Elter Water									outer basin: mesotrophic middle basin: eutrophic inner basin: hypereutrophic
Ennerdale Water									oligotrophic/mesotrophic
Esthwaite Water									eutrophic/hypereutrophic
Grasmere									eutrophic
Grisedale Tarn^[11]
Haweswater									mesotrophic
Hayeswater^[12]
Kentmere Reservoir^[13]
Levers Water^[14]
Loweswater									mesotrophic
Over Water^[15]
Rydal Water								^[16]	eutrophic/mesotrophic
Seathwaite Tarn^[17]
Tarn Hows^[18]
Thirlmere									oligotrophic
Ullswater									oligotrophic/mesotrophic
Wastwater									oligotrophic
Wet Sleddale Reservoir^[19]
Windermere^[20]									slightly eutrophic
Windermere (north)									slightly eutrophic
Windermere (south)									slightly eutrophic

Map of major lakes

The map shows the locations of the lakes with a volume over 4 x 10⁶ m³ and gives an indication of the volume of water in each lake. The markers suggest this by showing the size of a drop of water where the volume of the drop would be in proportion to the quantity of water in the lake (the diameter of the drop is proportional to the cube root of the lake's volume).

Lakes, tarns and reservoirs

• Alcock Tarn, east of Grasmere, below Heron Pike
• Angle Tarn, north of Bowfell
• Angle Tarn, east of Patterdale, by Angletarn Pikes
• Bassenthwaite Lake
• Beacon Tarn in the Blawith fells, west of Coniston Water
• Bigland Tarn near Haverthwaite
• Blackbeck Tarn on Haystacks
• Bleaberry Tarn, north of Red Pike, near Buttermere
• Blea Tarn, near Boot, Eskdale
• Blea Tarn, between Pike of Blisco and Lingmoor Fell
• Blea Tarn, on Watendlath fell, north of Ullscarf
• Blea Water, below High Street
• Blelham Tarn, west of Windermere
• Blind Tarn, on the east side of the ridge south of Dow Crag
• Boretree Tarn, west of the southern end of Windermere
• Bowscale Tarn, on the slopes of Bowscale Fell
• Brothers Water
• Burnmoor Tarn, Between Eskdale and Wasdale
• Buttermere
• Chapelhouse Reservoir, south-east of Uldale
• Codale Tarn, east of High Raise and the Langdale Pikes
• Cogra Moss, between Ennerdale Water and Loweswater
• Coniston Water
• Crummock Water
• Dalehead Tarn, between Dale Head and High Spy
• Derwent Water
• Devoke Water
• Dock Tarn, east of Rosthwaite, south of Watendlath
• Easedale Tarn, west of Grasmere
• Elter Water
• Ennerdale Water
• Esthwaite Water
• Floutern Tarn, north of Great Borne
• Foxes Tarn, north of Scafell
• Goat's Water, west of the Old Man of Coniston
• Grasmere
• Greendale Tarn, by Middle Fell near Wasdale
• Green Hows tarn Graythwaite
• Upper Green How’s tarn Graythwaite
• Grisedale Tarn, between Fairfield and Dollywaggon Pike
• Gurnal Dubs, west of Garnett Bridge
• Harrop Tarn, in the Wythburn fells, west of Thirlmere
• Haweswater Reservoir
• Hayeswater
• Heights Tarn
• Helton Tarn, northwest of Witherslack
• High Dam Tarn, west of the southern end of Windermere
• High House Tarn, south of Glaramara
• Innominate Tarn, on Haystacks
• Kelly Hall Tarn, south-east of Torver
• Kentmere Reservoir
• Knipe Tarn, south-east of Bowness-on-Windermere
• Lanty's Tarn, west of Patterdale
• Launchy Tarn, on Dale Head
• Levers Water, on the east side of the Coniston fells
• Lily Tarn, north of Clappersgate
• Lingmoor Tarn, on Lingmoor Fell
• Little Langdale Tarn
• Little Tarn, near Orthwaite, south of Uldale
• Littlewater Tarn, near Bampton
• Long Moss, between Torver and Coniston Water
• Loughrigg Tarn, below Loughrigg
• Loweswater
• Low Tarn, south of Red Pike, between Yewbarrow and the Seatallan-Haycock ridge
• Low Water, north of the Old Man of Coniston
• Meadley Reservoir, by Flat Fell, Ennerdale
• Mortimere, south of Clappersgate
• Moss Eccles Tarn, between Windermere and Esthwaite Water
• Over Water, south of Uldale
• Parkgate Tarn, near Eskdale
• Potter Tarn, west of Garnett Bridge
• Red Tarn (Helvellyn), below the summit of Helvellyn
• Red Tarn (Langdale), between Cold Pike and Pike of Blisco
• Rydal Water
• Scales Tarn, below the summit of Blencathra and Sharp Edge
• Schoolknott Tarn, south east of the town of Windermere
• Scoat Tarn, below Red Pike and Scoat Fell
• Seathwaite Tarn, west of the Coniston fells
• Simpson Ground Reservoir, east of Staveley-in-Cartmel
• Siney Tarn, north of Eskdale
• Skeggles Water, between Kentmere and Longsleddale
• Slew Tarn, east of Skelwith Bridge
• Small Water, between Mardale Ill Bell and Harter Fell
• Sow How Tarn
• Sprinkling Tarn, between Scafell Pike and Seathwaite Fell
• Stickle Tarn, Langdale, below Pavey Ark in the Langdale Pikes
• Styhead Tarn, at the head of Styhead Gill, at Sty Head Pass, between Scafell Pike and Great Gable
• Tarn at Leaves on Rosthwaite Fell
• Tarn Hows
• Tewet Tarn, below Low Rigg near St John's in the Vale
• Thirlmere
• Three Dubs Tarn, between Windermere and Esthwaite Water
• Three Tarns, between Bowfell and Crinkle Crags
• Torver Tarn, disused reservoir on Torver Low Common
• Tosh Tarn, south east of Wast Water, near the River Irt
• Ullswater
• Wast Water
• Watendlath Tarn
• Wet Sleddale Reservoir
• Windermere
• Wise Een Tarn, between Windermere and Esthwaite Water
• Woodhow Tarn, south east of Wast Water, near the River Irt
• Yew Tree Tarn, between Holme Fell and Tarn Hows

Former lakes, tarns and reservoirs

• Baystone Bank Reservoir, east of Black Combe (disused and then removed in 2011)^[21]
• Keppel Cove Tarn, north of Catstycam, dam destroyed by flood, 1931

Notes and References

1. Bassenthwaite Lake was previously known as either Broadwater or Bastunthwaite Water, according to different sources, but is no longer known by these names.
2. <
3. Web site: UK Lakes Portal. Environmental Information Platform. NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. 23 May 2016.
4. Retention time is an approximate value for mean retention time
5. Web site: UK Lakes Detail - Blea Water . Centre for Ecology and Hydrology . 2017-02-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160611204850/https://eip.ceh.ac.uk/apps/lakes/detail.html#wbid=29146 . 2016-06-11 .
6. Web site: UK Lakes Detail - Blelham Tarn . Centre for Ecology and Hydrology . 2017-02-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160611204850/https://eip.ceh.ac.uk/apps/lakes/detail.html#wbid=29270 . 2016-06-11 .
7. Web site: UK Lakes Detail - Burnmoor Tarn . Centre for Ecology and Hydrology . 2017-02-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160611204850/https://eip.ceh.ac.uk/apps/lakes/detail.html#wbid=29215 . 2016-06-11 .
8. Web site: UK Lakes Detail - Cogra Moss . Centre for Ecology and Hydrology . 2017-02-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160611204850/https://eip.ceh.ac.uk/apps/lakes/detail.html#wbid=29010 . 2016-06-11 .
9. Web site: UK Lakes Detail - Devoke Water . Centre for Ecology and Hydrology . 2017-02-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160611204850/https://eip.ceh.ac.uk/apps/lakes/detail.html#wbid=29338 . 2016-06-11 .
10. Web site: UK Lakes Detail - Easedale Tarn . Centre for Ecology and Hydrology . 2017-02-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160611204850/https://eip.ceh.ac.uk/apps/lakes/detail.html#wbid=29166 . 2016-06-11 .
11. Web site: UK Lakes Detail - Grisedale Tarn . Centre for Ecology and Hydrology . 2017-02-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160611204850/https://eip.ceh.ac.uk/apps/lakes/detail.html#wbid=29129 . 2016-06-11 .
12. Web site: UK Lakes Detail - Hayeswater . Centre for Ecology and Hydrology . 2017-02-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160611204850/https://eip.ceh.ac.uk/apps/lakes/detail.html#wbid=29125 . 2016-06-11 .
13. Web site: UK Lakes Detail - Kentmere Reservoir . Centre for Ecology and Hydrology . 2017-02-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160611204850/https://eip.ceh.ac.uk/apps/lakes/detail.html#wbid=29173 . 2016-06-11 .
14. Web site: UK Lakes Detail - Levers Water . Centre for Ecology and Hydrology . 2017-02-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160611204850/https://eip.ceh.ac.uk/apps/lakes/detail.html#wbid=29285 . 2016-06-11 .
15. Web site: UK Lakes Detail - Over Water . Centre for Ecology and Hydrology . 2017-02-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160611204850/https://eip.ceh.ac.uk/apps/lakes/detail.html#wbid=28806 . 2016-06-11 .
16. Web site: Maberly . S.C. . De Ville . M. M. . Thackeray . S.J. . Ainsworth . G. . Carse . F. . Fletcher . J. M. . Groben . R. . Hodgson . P. . James . J. B. . Kelly . J. L. . Vincent . C. D. . Wilson . D. R. . A survey of the lakes of the English Lake District: The Lakes Tour 2005 . . 6 February 2022 . 9.
17. Web site: UK Lakes Detail - Seathwaite Tarn . Centre for Ecology and Hydrology . 2017-02-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160611204850/https://eip.ceh.ac.uk/apps/lakes/detail.html#wbid=29290 . 2016-06-11 .
18. Web site: UK Lakes Detail - Tarn Hows . Centre for Ecology and Hydrology . 2017-02-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160611204850/https://eip.ceh.ac.uk/apps/lakes/detail.html#wbid=29275 . 2016-06-11 .
19. Web site: UK Lakes Detail - Wet Sleddale Reservoir . Centre for Ecology and Hydrology . 2017-02-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160611204850/https://eip.ceh.ac.uk/apps/lakes/detail.html#wbid=29133 . 2016-06-11 .
20. Overall figures for Windermere derived from the two lake portions listed separately here.
21. News: Dam-busters will put part of Cumbria back together . 25 September 2018 . . 24 February 2011.